Moon River Brewing Company - Savannah, GA

The last place we visited on our recent trip to Savannah was the Moon River Brewing Company. The Moon River Brewing Company is located, as are many things in Savannah, in an historic building. It was built in 1821 and was the location of the city's first hotel and first branch of the US Post Office. 

The building is said to be haunted. (Savannah was named one of the most haunted cities in America.) A couple of TV's ghost hunting shows have stopped by to check it out. Moon River is also part of a haunted pub crawl.  

 

There are two menus at Moon River; the pub menu and a menu for their beer garden. We decided to eat inside so we ordered from the pub menu. 

Swamp Fox American IPA

Before we placed our food orders we tried the beer. The weather was warm in Savannah for the holidays, near 80. The cold beer was a treat. 

We started our food order with two Small Plates. Well, we tried to start with two but only ended up with one. The Devils on Horseback we ordered were not available on the day we were there. That left us with the Stuffed Mushrooms, which I happen to love. What can I say about stuffed mushrooms? These were tasty and hit the spot.

Stuffed Mushrooms - Mexican chorizo & bleu cheese,

topped with chipotle creama

The Dining Companion ordered the Sausage and Potatoes and I ordered the burger. Both were good. I did steal the grainy mustard from his sausage plate for my burger.

Sausage & Potatoes - Chargrilled polish kielbasa & Cajun

andouille, grilled onions, smoked

Gouda escalloped potatoes

& southern style cole slaw

Build Your Own Burger with lettuce, tomatoes and cheese with a side of onion rings

I tried another beer with my burger. A black IPA called Boo Hag. I really enjoyed this one.

Boo Hag Black IPA

We enjoyed this visit to Savannah. We hadn't spent the holidays there before and it turned out to be a great choice. Being a tourist destination insured that a lot of places were open over the holiday. We had no trouble finding places to dine and things to do while we were there.

If holiday travel is on your agenda for the coming year I recommend you give Savannah a look. It's a lovely city and a great place to spend some time.

Happy travels!

The Olde Pink House - Savannah, GA

I know the conventional wisdom. Dining out on a holiday can be a sucker's bet. I don't disagree. When you travel for the holidays like we do, well, all bets are necessarily off; you have to eat somewhere. Couple that with the short list of places that are even open on a major holiday and the odds are decidedly not in your favor. Usually. The Olde Pink House tipped that conventional wisdom on its head. The food was fabulous.

The dining room was really lovely. The understated decorations made it even prettier.

The Dining Companion and I had an early reservation and the dining room was still quiet when we arrived.

The Olde Pink House offered a prix fixe Christmas menu. The nice thing about it was the number of choices we had.

 

There were a few drink selections on offer. So we started off with a cocktail. I went with the Pink Lady and the Dining Companion had the Planters Punch.

Pink Lady

Planters Punch

With drinks in hand we took a few minutes to look over the menu. Our server delivered a bread basket to enjoy while we decided.

Corn muffins, yeast rolls and biscuits.

 There was so much to chose from.

For starters we went with the Fried Pork Belly and the Roasted Corn Chowder. Both were very good but the Pork Belly won the appetizer round. It was just about perfect.

Fried Pork Belly, sweet potato puree and fried collard greens. I mean come on!

Roasted corn chowder with Neuske's bacon and a lobster beignet

On to mains and yet more choices...

I decided on the Crab Stuffed Shrimp and the Dining Companion had the Grilled Kurobuta Pork Chop. The shrimp dish was great. Nice flavors, everything worked. But, but...that pork chop. It was fantastic. Really. Some of the best pork I've had anywhere.

Crab stuffed Georgia white shrimp, spinach & andouille sausage risotto with lemon buerre blanc.

Grilled Kurobuta pork chop, butternut squash puree brussel sprouts, caramelized shallots and Gala apple sauce - Incredible!

Finally we got to dessert and once again there were many great choices.

We had the Eggnog Cheesecake and the Pink Velvet Cake.

Eggnog Cheesecake

Pink Velvet Cake

The Olde Pink House definitely was not phoning it in for the holiday. They way exceeded my expectations. So much so that if I'm in Savannah again I plan to return there for dinner. If what we had was any indication we'll be in for a treat.

 Happy dining!

River House Seafood - Savannah, Georgia

The Dining Companion and I usually travel for the holidays and this past year was no exception. We spent the Christmas holiday in Savannah.

There is an Italian-American Christmas Eve tradition known as the Feast of the Seven Fishes. With a nod to that tradition we headed to River House Seafood for an early Christmas Eve dinner.

The River House is located on historic River Street. A cobbled thoroughfare that wends its way between converted former cotton warehouses and the Savannah River. The street is lined with antique shops, boutiques, galleries, pubs, restaurants and hotels. It's a touristy area filled with enough unique places to keep us coming back.

One of the things that the River House is known for is a signature drink, the Chatham Artillery Punch. The drink is named after the Chatham Artillery; the oldest military organization of record in Georgia.

Chatham Artillery Punch

 We sipped one while we looked over the menu.

We were there for seafood so we started with the Local Blue Crab Dip. Warm and cheesy and brimming with crab. We were off to a good start.

LOCAL BLUE CRAB DIP - parmesan cream sauce with house made flour tortilla  chips

The Dining Companion knew what he was going to order when we sat down. He was there for the shrimp and crawfish etouffe. It was delicious.

SHRIMP & CRAWFISH ETOUFFE - Rich & spicy tomato based roux mixed with crawfish meat & shrimp served over cornbread

I went back and forth but in the end I had the shrimp and grits. So good.

SHRIMP AND STONE GROUND GRITS a local favorite with country ham and roasted tomatoes in a butter reduction sauce, served over parmesan grits

While we didn't technically have "seven fishes" our dinner felt enough in the spirit of the tradition for me. We all have our own traditions; some we inherit, some we make up. Wherever they come from the best part of a tradition is sharing it with others.

Whatever your own holiday traditions may be I hope you got to enjoy them and share them with the people you love.
 

Happy traveling! 

Cassarino's Ristorante - Providence, Rhode Island

One of the last places I dined on my trip to the East Coast was Cassarino's Ristorante. Cassarino's is an old school Italian-American restaurant located on Federal Hill in Providence, Rhode Island. For those who don't know, Federal Hill is Providence's little Italy. There you'll find lots of great dining, shopping and depending on the time of year a great Italian festival. 

I love a good red-sauce, Italian-American restaurant and Cassarino's delivered. We started out with a drink at the bar...

A vodka martini? Yes, please!

Once we were seated we ordered a few appetizers to share. All of them were good but the the Burrata Salad was outstanding. Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream. All I can say is if you see it on a menu somewhere, order it.

Burrata Salad - Creamy fresh mozzarella with Prosciutto di Parma & sliced tomato, finished with olive oil, sweet balsamic vinegar & black sea salt

We also had the stuffed mushrooms and the bruschetta.

Mushroom Caps - Mushrooms stuffed with a Ritz cracker & vegetable stuffing

Traditional Bruschetta - Toasted Italian bread layered with sliced fresh mozzarella & marinated diced plum tomato

For our main courses we decided on the filet mignon and, what I believe were two specials, the papardelle arrabiata and a fillet and stuffed shrimp dish.

Filet Mignon - Grilled filet, portabella mushroom demi glace, with a sprinkle of gorgonzola cheese. Served with asparagus & potato

Papardelle Arrabiata

Grilled filet with mixed veg, potatoes and stuffed jumbo shrimp

Dinner was great. Just what you'd expect from a joint that's been serving local diners since 1988. Great company and good food. No better combination for a fabulous evening.
After dinner we walked over to Pastiche Fine Desserts for a couple of cannolis and a few other treats. A wonderful end to a great evening.

A box of goodness - Cannolis!

If you plan to visit Providence you have to make Federal Hill one of your stops. So many great restaurants, places to get traditional Italian pastries and other yummy goodies.I can't recommend it highly enough. It's touristy but in the best possible way. It'll be a highlight of your trip.

Happy dining!

Harry's Bar & Burger - Providence, Rhode Island

Harry's Bar & Burger was another stop I made with my lovely sister and my awesome BIL during my visit to the Northeast. I'd read about Harry's and wanted to stop in when I was visiting. 

After reading in several places that Harry's served one of the best burgers in Providence how could I not give it a try?

Harry's is a small, hip place located near Brown and RISD that specializes in small burgers and beers. They also have an interesting cocktail menu, hard-shakes and a few Bloody Mary's.

My awesome BIL had a Smuttynose Brewing Company's Finestkind IPA.

I had a beer, it was a good beer, but I can't recall its name. I know I should take better notes, or any notes, but you know how it goes.

Which brings us to the food. We ordered the M.O.A.B. (mother of All Burgers) with a side of Sweet Potato fries. Harry's has a veggie burger option and also turkey burgers. Everyone should be able to find something they like.

M.O.A.B - harry's classic cheese, bacon, mushroom and fried onion stings

The burgers are small sliders cooked using the "smash them on the grill" method. While not my favorite style of burger, these were not at all dry and very tasty. A happy surprise.

Sweet Potato fries with Kryptonite Aoili

The fries were good but made better with the addition of the kryptonite aoili.
I have no idea, not a clue, what kryptonite aoili is. It tastes good and it's green. That's all I got.


Harry's is a fun place, serving creative, small burgers and a good selection of beer. No surprise that it's a favorite with the local college crowd. Due to it's small size the place fills up quickly and can have a wait. Would I stand a wait for this place? Probably not. But if you hit it at the right time Harry's is certainly worth a visit.

Happy dining!